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What does 2 Peter 1 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Peter's second letter seems to have been written to the same audience as 1 Peter. The words are directed towards Christians scattered by persecution. Second Peter is undoubtedly written to believers, but the focus of this particular letter is not persecution itself, as 1 Peter was. Instead, Peter begins by addressing an issue which remains a focus of the church even today: whether or not believers will be productive and effective servants of God through our knowledge of Him.

Peter starts by saying that no Christian—no one who knows God through faith in Jesus—is missing anything we need to lead the godly lives we are called to. By the grace of God, all who trust in Christ have been made partners in God's nature and purpose. Every believer has been freed from the corruption in the world caused by sinful desires. In other words, we are fully equipped. None of us can offer the excuse that we didn't have what was needed to continue the mission.

And what is the mission? Peter describes it as making an effort to add a very specific set of Christlike qualities alongside the faith that believers already have. This all begins with the goodness—or virtue or "moral excellence"—of Jesus. These qualities also include knowledge, self–control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. If we have these Christlike qualities and continue to abound (or grow) in them, we are leading the life God calls us to. Specifically, we are being effective and productive in the knowledge of Jesus we have been given.

If we fall short in these qualities, we still remain God's children through faith in Christ. Our eternal salvation is not bought, or kept, by our own efforts. However, failing to take on these traits means wasting the knowledge of Jesus. We become ineffective and unproductive servants. In fact, this makes us so nearsighted that we can seem like unbelievers who are, in fact, spiritually blind. Worse, when we fail to live up to the life we are called to, we can become forgetful. Specifically, we forget that we have already been cleansed of the sins which may now occupy us again. We have forgotten who we are in Christ.

Peter urges us to demonstrate the reality of our place in God's family. We do this by eagerly exercising these qualities in our lives as we look forward to the day when Jesus will warmly welcome us into His kingdom. As Peter writes, he knows his readers are already aware of things, but he intends to keep reminding them. He will keep stirring them up, so that they will continue connecting what they know in Christ with how they live. He is preparing them to keep going after his death, which will come soon.

Peter reminds the reader, as well, that he was told by Jesus Himself that he would die. And yet, Jesus also allowed Peter to see the transfiguration: the moment when Jesus was revealed in His glory and the Father's voice declared Jesus as Son. According to Peter, his personal, eyewitness testimony to that event confirms all of the prophecies about the Messiah, including His return as judge and king.

2 Peter 1:1–2 serves as Peter’s opening greeting to his readers. He identifies himself both by the older form of his Jewish name—''Simeon''—and the more well-known name which he was given by Jesus. He writes to believers, those who share his faith because of Jesus’ righteousness, wishing them grace and peace in the knowledge of God and Jesus.

2 Peter 1:3–15 urges Christians to understand that they are, right now, fully equipped to lead the life to which God has called them. Since they are equipped, they must use those tools through personal effort. They should strive to add Christ’s goodness and other powerful qualities to their lived-out faith. Growing in those qualities leads to a productive, effective life of knowing the Lord. Lacking Christ’s qualities leads to the opposite. Peter continues reminding the reader of what they already know, in order to keep stirring them up, to ensure they remember all of this after he has died (which will be soon).

2 Peter 1:16–21 focuses on fulfilled prophecies about Christ. Peter points to his eyewitness experience of the transfiguration as confirmation those prophecies are true. As a result, Peter knows that those prophecies yet to be fulfilled will happen one day. This includes predictions of the return of Christ as judge and king, a point Peter will support in the coming two chapters.

Chapter Summary:

Peter begins this brief letter to Christians by reminding them they are not missing anything they need to lead the good and godly lives they are called to. They must work, then, to add to their faith the goodness and qualities of Jesus. This requires effort, unlike eternal salvation which is not based on our work. Those who lack these positive attributes will live as unproductive and ineffective servants of God, nearly as blind as unbelievers and forgetting that their sins are forgiven. Peter, near death, insists that his eyewitness testimony about the transfiguration confirms that the prophecies about the Messiah are true. Jesus is coming back.

Chapter Context:

Peter begins his letter by urging his Christian readers not to be unproductive in their knowledge of Jesus. Rather, they should work to add all of Christ’s qualities to their lives. Then Peter begins to lay a foundation to support his attack on the false teachers in the church. He also introduces ideas supporting his declaration that the Day of the Lord is coming. Later chapters will use the background of this first chapter to support those arguments.

Apparently written shortly before his death in the AD 60s, 2 Peter may have been written to the same audience as 1 Peter, which was Christians scattered by persecution. Peter writes this letter to encourage Christians to live out the purpose of their lives in Christ. He warns readers to beware of teachers who claim to be believers, but present a false version of Christianity. And, Peter calls on all Christians to eagerly watch and wait for the return of the Lord.

Accessed 5/4/2024 11:08:42 AM